Barber, Poulenc and Saint-Saëns

[sawyl]

Over the weekend, I picked up what has to be the best CD of year so far. It features the Philadelphia Orchestra under Christophe Eschenbach and soloist Olivier Latry in a program designed to show off the features of new Verizon Hall concert organ.

The program kicks off with Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva, originally written to celebrate the inauguration of the concert organ in the Philadelphia's old home, before moving on to Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani and concluding with Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3.

The performances are quite superb. The Philadelphia are consistently excellent throughout, while Latry is a brilliant form, suitably dazzling in the Toccata, sensitive to the nuances and details of the Poulenc, and excellent in the less showy Saint-Saëns. The recording, despite being made live, is fabulously well balanced. Thus, the organ part is very clear and prominent but without ever overwhelming the orchestra. As a result, the recording brings out ever little detail of the solo part — I heard subtleties in the Toccata and the Poulenc that aren't at all clear in other versions.

Quite, quite wonderful.